The main criticism levelled at the Drums, beyond being excessively fashionable and having trousers that stop somewhere around their shins, is that they are unoriginal. By taking their inspiration from mostly forgotten English indie bands from the late 80s, the New York four-piece stand accused of scooping up material from the underground and packaging it in a way that's palatable to the average 17-year-old. On the evidence of their first major London concert, however, the Drums have taken an existing style and made it entirely their own.

As the band leapt on to the stage amid excited cheers from the crowd, the Drums' originality was apparent. They looked like a cross between male models and Thunderbird puppets. They took the sparest of ingredients – a simple drum beat, a melody played on a single guitar string – and fashioned catchy pop gems. And they were unfailingly gracious to their audience, even formal, which is not a quality hipsters are generally noted for.

A high point came when Clare Grogan, who captured a camp charm in the early 1980s with her band Altered Images, bounced up to duet with singer Jonathan Pierce on Don't Be a Jerk, Johnny. They flirted with each other in a theatrical way, like a young dancing master with an elder lady partner.

The biggest cheers were saved for the band's ebullient debut single, Let's Go Surfing, but there was excitement throughout the set, with the crowd singing along to almost every hook-laden number. The Drums' real strength is their understanding of a good pop song as a thing of value, however momentary and ephemeral it might be.